If Raiders coach gets his way, Doug Martin will stay in Oakland next season

Doug Martin has done a good enough job in place of injured star running back Marshawn Lynch that Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden wants the Boise State alum on the roster next season.

Martin leads the Raiders with 384 rushing yards and one touchdown on 87 carries — an average of 4.41 yards per carry. He also has 14 receptions for 100 yards. Since he assumed a starting role in Week 8, Martin has averaged 12 carries and 57 yards per game.

“He’s a good back. I think I’ll say it again and again, he’s a very good player,” Gruden told Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s been a great player in this league. He’s running it. He’s catching it.”

When he joined the Raiders in March, Martin signed a one-year deal worth $1.475 million, meaning he will be a free agent this spring.

“Hopefully we can keep him around here,” Gruden said. “He’s a heck of a football player.”

Martin was the 31st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and spent his first six seasons with Tampa Bay, where he started 65 of the 68 games he played. He has two seasons of 1,000-plus yards, rushing for 1,454 in 2012 and 1,402 in 2015. He made the Pro Bowl both seasons.

Martin played for Boise State from 2008 to 2011, totaling 3,431 career rushing yards, good enough for the sixth-most in program history. His 43 career rushing TDs ranks fifth in Boise State history.

Boise State’s Cozart wins Grey Cup

Three former Boise State players took part in the Canadian Football League’s 106th Grey Cup on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16.

Montell Cozart (2017) is a third-string quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders, and Ryan Dinwiddie (2001-03) is in his third season as the Stampeders’ QBs coach.

Jon Gott (2007-08) suited up as an offensive lineman for the Redblacks.

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 5:15 PM.